I John 3:1-3

"See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when He appears we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who thus hopes in Him purifies Himslef as He is pure."

Let us never forget the awesomeness of this love. This love washes away all of our vile, disgusting sins. This love covers us with the blood of Christ and reconciles us to the Father. This love demanded sacrifice and was manifested in the death of Christ. That is love. That God-incarnate, our precious Savior, Jesus, would die to save sinners, enemies of God, dead in our sins, to bring us into fellowship with Him. We are His children. And how comforting it is to know, like John, that "we are" His children. Nothing can separate us from His love. This love that God bestowed on us results in three things.

In the second half of verse 1, His love results in us no longer being of the world. But rather, the world now hates us (John 15) and doesn't know us for we are no longer of it. We are "sojourners and exiles" (I Pet. 2:11). We have been called out of this present darkness and we now live in the light. This is the most dramatic change that can ever take place. We went from absolute darkness, slavery to sin, to the shining light that is Christ and we are now His bondservants. The world can no longer know us and we can no longer have fellowship with it for what fellowship has light with darkness (II Cor. 6:14). Where there is light there can be no darkness.

The second thing this love accomplishes for us is that upon the return of Christ we will be like Him (vs. 2). And the reason for this likeness, is that we will see Him as He truly is, not as through a glass darkly. We shall see face to face. I may be drawing too much from this, but I think that it is interesting that these statements come in the "love chapter" (I Cor. 13) and here in this passage we have the same kind of comments linked to the greatness of the Father's love. It is His love that allows us to see Him. If He wasn't loving He wouldn't show us Himslef, but because He is, He shows us His beauty, majesty, holiness, and absolute perfection in everything. And in the end we will see Him perfectly. May we pray that this day would come quickly. Look forward with eagerness and don't fix your gaze on this world. But rejoice with Paul that to die and see Christ clearly and fully is gain and everything else is rubbish compared to knowing our Lord and Savior. His love accomplishes this.

The third thing that this love accomplishes is a hope that changes us. His love puts in us a hope fixed on His second coming. And this hope causes us to purify ourselves as He is pure and walk like He walked (2:6). Don't live for this world. Don't fix your hope here. Fix it on the sure return of the King. He is coming again as a King and Judge and will establish His kingdom. This is our home. This world is not. Never fix your gaze here. Rather fix your gaze on the beauty of the Lord and seek to know Him more (Ps. 27:4). And if we do this, we will seek to make Him known. We will seek to show this awesome love to the world. "Let the nations be glad and sing for joy" (Ps. 67:4).

This is the great love of God that makes us His children. We are His. Live like it.